Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer not in top 10 most-searched athletes in Serbia and Switzerland, Rafael Nadal in Top 3 non-soccer athletes in Spain
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal have been three pillars of men's tennis in the last two decades. Fans and experts of the sport have constantly debated about which one of the three trumps the other two as the greatest tennis player of all time.
However, now only one of the 'Big Three' remains active. Roger Federer retired in 2022, and 2024 saw Rafael Nadal hang up his boots. Even though Novak Djokovic is still competing, the next generation, led by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, has emerged as the top players, signaling a changing of the guard in men’s tennis.
The shift is evident among fans as well. According to Google Search Trends, neither Novak Djokovic nor Roger Federer is among the top 10 athletes in Serbia and Switzerland. While Spanish football prodigy Lamine Yamal topped the charts in Switzerland, basketball player Aleksa Avramovic was the most-searched athlete in Serbia.
2024 was an Olympic year, and therefore fans paid special attention to the athletes who did well in Paris.
In Spain, Rafael Nadal was the second-most searched athlete on Google among non-footballers. The 22-time Major champion made waves through the sporting world when he announced his retirement. His last event was at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. He was closely followed by Carlos Alcaraz in the third position on the search trends. Illia Topuria, the UFC featherweight champion, took the top spot as the most searched non-footballer athlete in Spain.
2024 is the first year since 2002, when neither of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal won a Grand Slam
Grand Slams are the pinnacle in the world of tennis. Every tennis player has the ambition of winning a Grand Slam as it puts them in the history books. On the men's side, the top three spots for most Grand Slams won are occupied by the Big Three (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal). However 2024 marked the first time since 2003 that none of them won a Grand Slam in a calendar year.
Federer retired in 2022, and Nadal only played at the French Open where he lost to Alexander Zverev in the first round. Novak Djokovic played all four Majors, but could not bag a title. He did reach the final at Wimbledon but was defeated comprehensively by Carlos Alcaraz.
Since Federer won his maiden Major in 2003, one of the Big Three won at least one Major every year till last year. However, with Sinner and Alcaraz sharing the Majors this year, there is a definite shift in men's tennis.